A fluid flow process (flow process) includes any process that involves the flow of fluid through a conduit (a pipe, a duct, etc.), as well as through fluid control devices such as pumps, valves, orifices, heat exchangers, and the like. Flow processes are found in many different industries such as the oil and gas industry, refining, food and beverage industry, chemical and petrochemical industry, pulp and paper industry, power generation, pharmaceutical industry, and water and wastewater treatment industry. The fluid within the flow process (i.e., referred to as the “process flow”) may be a single phase fluid (e.g., gas, liquid or liquid/liquid mixture) and/or a multi-phase mixture (e.g. paper and pulp slurries or other solid/liquid mixtures). The multi-phase mixture may be a two-phase liquid/gas mixture, a solid/gas mixture or a solid/liquid mixture, gas entrained liquid or a three-phase mixture.
Various sensing technologies exist for measuring various physical parameters of single and/or multiphase fluids in a process flow. Such physical parameters include, for example, volumetric flow rate, composition, consistency, density, and mass flow rate.
The present invention provides a method and apparatus for measuring the speed of sound in a process flow. As is known in the art, the speed of sound in a process flow is related to various other physical parameters of the process flow.